CLASS ACTS
By Brian Howell
“Those are the three most in
uential people that have helped re-establish winning back here at Colorado, and so to see that visual, I thought was a great deal,” Shurmur said Indeed, Coach Prime, his quarterback son and the dynamic Hunter have led the charge in restoring some glory at CU The 20th-ranked Buffs (9-3) are enjoying their most successful season since 2016 and will take on No 17 BYU (10-2) in the Valero Alamo Bowl on Saturday. Saturday will be the last time Buff Nation will see Shedeur and Hunter play for Colorado, as both will head to the NFL Draft, where they are projected to be among the first few players selected
Although it’s been just two short seasons in Boulder, it is the end of an era of sorts with not only Shedeur and Hunter but several other transformational seniors moving on.
“A bunch of guys that just want to go get it,” receiver Will Sheppard said of the senior class “Everybody here has the same common goal, so I think that’s why the season has been what it’s been. Everybody’s looking forward to the same things and trying to get to the same place.”
By Brian Howell
bhowell @prairiemountainmedia.com
SAN ANTONIO >> Ben Finneseth
was a senior at Durango High School when his father took him to Golden to visit the Colorado School of Mines
“I asked my dad, I was like, ‘Can we just drive up to Folsom Field? I just want to see it I’ve never seen it,’” Finneseth said this week
“We drove up and I looked through the gate, and I was like, ‘Dad, I want to play here.’ And then a couple weeks later, I ended up getting the call. And since then it’s been a dream lived out ever since.” Now in his fourth season with the Colorado Buffaloes, Finnes-
eth is one of the few “OBs” — original Buffs who were on the team before head coach Deion Sanders was hired in December of 2022 — who are enjoying the opportunity to participate in the Valero Alamo Bowl with the 20thranked Buffs on Saturday against No. 17 BYU
“It means the world,” said Finneseth, a walk-on safety and special teams standout “Obviously, two years ago, we were 1-11, and then last year, we were 4-8 and now we’re 9-3 and could potentially have a doubledigit win season So it means a lot, especially being an in-state guy.” This season, just 10 OBs were on the roster, including linebacker Trevor Woods, who recently entered the transfer portal and won’t participate in the Alamo Bowl. Running back Charlie Offerdahl, a former walk-on, is the lone
Time will tell if this is a type of coronation at
A scouting report of the Colorado Buffaloes and BYU Cougars ahead of Saturday’s Valero Alamo Bowl game at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
Colorado Buffaloes
Head coach: Deion Sanders, 2nd season (13-11, 40-17career)
2024season: 9-3, 7-2Big 12
Last game: Beat Oklahoma State 52-0, on Nov. 29
Rankings: No. 23CFP, No. 20AP No. 22Coaches
5 Buffs to watch
WR Jimmy Horn Jr.: Injured for much of November, he’s been healthy in practices and could play a huge role against BYU. He has 33catches for 434yards and a touchdown this season.
CB/WR Travis Hunter: The second Heisman Trophy winner in CU history is expected to play, and if he does, he’ll be looking to have one last big game in a Buffaloes uniform. He comes into the bowl with 92catches for 1,152yards and 14touchdowns, along with four interceptions and 11pass breakups on defense.
QB Shedeur Sanders: He’s already set just about all of CU’s single-season school records, but he also needs just two touchdown passes to set a career record in that category.
S Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig: The heart of the CU defense for the past two years, he’s leading the team with 87tackles, including 8.5tackles for loss and two sacks
DE Arden Walker: One of the key contributors to what has been, at times, a dominant pass rush for the Buffs. The Cherry Creek graduate has 31tackles, six tackles for loss and 4.5sacks.
BYU Cougars
Head coach: Kalani Sitake, 9th season (71-43)
2024season: 10-2, 7-2Big 12
Last game: Beat Houston, 30-17 on Nov. 30
Rankings: No. 17CFP, No. 17AP No. 17Coaches
5 Cougars to watch
DE Tyler Batty: First-team AllBig 12selection by the coaches, he leads the BYU defensive front. He has 55tackles, seven tackles for loss and 1.5sacks, along with eight QB hurries
CB Marque Collins: Among the leaders of a secondary that has been tough against the pass this season. He has 22tackles, two interceptions and a team-high eight pass breakups.
LB Isaiah Glasker: Has earned All-Big 12recognition from various outlets. He’s done a bit of everything, with 62tackles, a teamhigh 13.5TFLs, 3.5sacks, two interceptions and a forced fumble.
WR/KR Keelan Marion: A firstteam All-American by the FWAA and Walter Camp, he’s one of the most dangerous returners in the country, averaging 26.2yards and taking two back for touchdowns. As a receiver, he’s caught 23passes for 340yards and a touchdown.
QB Jake Retzlaff: A first-time starter this season, Retzlaff has posted 2,796passing yards, 20 touchdowns and 10interceptions, while completing 57% of his passes. He’s also dangerous with his legs, ranking second on the team with 388rushing yards and leading the team with six rushing touchdowns
When Colorado has the ball
For one last time, the Buffs offense will be led by dynamic quarterback Shedeur Sanders Statistically, he’s having the best season of any quarterback in CU history, with school records for completion percentage (74.2%), passing yards (3,926) and TD passes (35). Although CU will try to run the ball, that’s been extremely inconsistent all season. In four November games, the Buffs averaged just 50.0rushing yards per game. Look for Sanders to attack through the air, looking for Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, a now-healthy Jimmy Horn Jr., speedy LaJohntay Wester, Will Sheppard and more. BYU has been excellent against the pass, allowing just 180.3yards per game (second-best in the Big 12) and picking off 20passes (tied for second-best in the country), but the Cougars also haven’t seen a quarterback as good as Sanders “I just have a real appreciation for the player and the person and man,” CU offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said. “He’s got a bright future. If one of these NFL teams doesn’t select him, then I think they’re taking the second best quarterback. It’s just my opinion.
When BYU has the ball
The Cougars have had a fairly balanced attack all season, but it is led by their quarterback Jake Retzlaff. He struggled a bit in November, with just two TD passes and three interceptions, while BYU’s scoring average was just 22.0points per game in those four games. Retzlaff did have a string of six consecutive games with multiple TD passes at one point though. He also poses a running threat that CU hasn’t seen much in recent games from the quarterback. BYU didn’t have any first- or second-team all-conference receivers, but Chase Roberts (51 catches, 843yards, four TDs) and Darius Lassiter (43for 679 four TDs) are reliable targets LJ Martin is a solid running back as well, leading the BYU ground game with 630yards and five TDs, while averaging 5.2yards per carry. The Cougars don’t have the most dynamic offense around, averaging 30.8points per game (sixth in the Big 12) and 397.4 yards (12th), but they’re efficient. “Very sound team, very technically sound team,” CU cornerback DJ McKinney said. “They’re gonna do their job. They’re gonna execute what their coaches are calling and everything, so we’ve just got to be more disciplined than them, really.”
Special teams
CU’s Alejandro Mata has made 10 field goals in a row and is 12-for14on the season, along with going 53-for-53on extra points. Punter Mark Vassett is averaging 43.8 yards per punt and has put 19of his 49punts inside the opponents’ 20-yard line. BYU kicker Will Ferrin was first-team All-Big 12, going 21-for-24on field goals (long of 54) and hitting all 38extra points. Punter Sam Vander Haar has been solid, at 42.8yards per punt In the return game, there’s a clear advantage to BYU CU got a punt return for touchdown by LaJohntay Wester against Utah but hasn’t done much else this season. BYU has an All-American kickoff returner (Keelan Marion) and has scored four touchdowns on returns (three kickoffs, one punt).
Notables
• CU and BYU both finished among the four-way tie for first place in the Big 12, but were the two teams left out of the conference title game because of tiebreakers (Arizona State beat Iowa State in the title game)
• The two schools became Big 12Conference rivals this year when CU joined the conference but they haven’t met in 36years. The last meeting came on Dec 29, 1988, in the Freedom Bowl in Anaheim, Calif. BYU won that game, 20-17
• From 1922-47, the Buffs and Cougars were conference rivals in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (1922-37) and the Mountain State Conference (1938-47) They matched up just 10times in those 26seasons, though with CU going 8-1-1. They’ve met just twice since then, in 1981(a 41-20 BYU win in Boulder) and the 1988 Freedom Bowl.
• CU is 12-18all-time in bowl games and is looking to snap a four-game bowl losing streak.
BYU is 17-22-1in bowl games winning its last one, 24-23 against SMU in the 2022New Mexico Bowl.
• Buffs receiver LaJohntay Wester is just 120yards away from 1,000for this season (880on 70 catches). He’s also tied for sixth in FBS history with 322career catches and could move as high as fourth with a big game. He’s 10 away from tying for fourth.
• CU’s Travis Hunter has the second-most catches in a season in program history (92) and could join Nelson Spruce (106in 2014) as the only players in school history with 100. Hunter is also 127 yards away from becoming just the 11th receiver in CU history with 2,000for his career (1,873)
• Buffs kicker Alejandro Mata is tied for eighth in CU history with 89points this season. The singleseason record is 100by Mason Crosby in 2004.
• BYU has forced more turnovers (27) than any other team in the Big 12, and only four teams nationally have more takeaways. CU, meanwhile, is second in the Big 12 with 24takeaways, tied for 13th nationally
• The Cougars have won at least 10games for the third time in the last five years under head coach Kalani Sitake. Overall this is the 19th 10-win season in BYU history
• CU is appearing in the Alamo Bowl for the fourth time, going 0-3in its first three trips BYU is at the Alamo Bowl for the first time
Following a dismal 1-11 season in 2022, CU athletic director Rick George hired Coach Prime, which kick-started the resurgence Shedeur and Hunter were the most important players to come with Coach Prime from Jackson State, but certainly not the only ones.
The foundation was also built by LaVonta Bentley, Tyler Brown Shane Cokes, Jimmy Horn Jr., Shilo Sanders, Cam’Ron SilmonCraig and Mark Vassett, who are all seniors this season after two years with the Buffs.
This year, BJ Green, Kameron Hawkins, Preston Hodge, Justin Mayers Chidozie Nwankwo Sheppard and LaJohntay Wester joined the mix to play their final seasons in Boulder, and all have been key players.
“They’re the ones that changed the game for us,” Coach Prime said of the senior class and Hunter, a junior playing in his final game Saturday “They’re the ones that impacted this wonderful learning institution. They’re the ones that are responsible for the recruits that you’re seeing commit.
“They’re the ones who put us on the map They’re the ones who have the multitude of these camera men and women and wonderful reporters in this room right now.
Coach Prime began his journey in coaching to mentor his sons, Shedeur and Shilo, but he’s also known Silmon-Craig and Green since they were youth players. And he’s taken others, such as Brown, Horn, Nwankwo and Vassett, under his wing.
“I don’t want to think about it too much because I get emotional,” Coach Prime said after the Buffs’ 52-0 win against Oklahoma State on Nov. 29. “I don’t just coach these young men; I love these young men They’re family I just want them to soar, not just from the football aspect, but as young men in life.
Original Buffs
FROM PAGE 1
scholarship OB, with Finneseth leading a group of eight walkon OBs
All of them joined the Buffs after the program went to the Alamo Bowl at the end of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, but none had ever experienced success as Buffs before this year
Offerdahl Finneseth, Camden Dempsey and Ben Reznik are all fourth-year Buffs who went a combined 9-27 in their first three years with the program
“All that I gotta say is it’s just such a blessing to be here,” said Offerdahl, who came to CU from Dakota Ridge High School “Being with this team, with the players we got on this team, with Coach Prime, having the family come out here, it’s just so special.”
The vast majority of the players Finneseth got to know in his first two seasons at CU are gone, but he’s adapted to change and embraced what the program has become under Coach Prime
“The way that we’ve come together has been super cool, and it’s been amazing to see the fam-
As a group the seniors have defied the odds and brushed aside the naysayers, who claimed CU couldn’t win like it has and couldn’t possibly build team chemistry with massive turnover in the transfer portal.
Instead, this might be the most tight-knit senior class in several years at CU.
“I say the chemistry,” Bentley said when asked what is special about the senior class. “Everybody’s just close Last year we didn’t have that Everybody’s just leaning on one another and having fun, like we be joking and everything It’s a real deal family here, and we built that.”
This class came together for the common goal of winning, but they didn’t come here just to win and move on. Leaving a legacy is important to this group
Silmon-Craig grew up in Alabama and watched the 2009 Alabama squad that won the national title It was the first title in 16 years for the Crimson Tide, and it kick-started a run of six championships in 12 years
“I remember the ‘09 Alabama team that kind of struck the
ily that we’ve built and the brotherhood,” he said “So, yeah, it’s meant everything, the way that we’ve played for each other and played with each other this season.”
Finneseth redshirted in 2021 and missed the last 10 games of 2023 with an injury, but he’s been a special teams standout this year, recording 10 tackles and bringing loads of energy.
“I’m more of the spark and the energy that this team needs, because I talk a lot and got a lot of energy, and I’m always dancing and stuff,” he said “It took me a while to figure out my role, and last year, I didn’t know how to play that role, and that was my problem.
“I think I’ve benefited from the things that I went through last season because of that This season, I’ve learned that I have to be the special teams leader and be the special teams captain, and I’ve stepped up. I’ve taken pride in that role and it’s been a huge blessing to see how the team has benefited from it as well. So it’s been cool.”
Offerdahl is also one of the inspirational leaders of the team. He earned a scholarship in the spring and has been in the
match for the run that Alabama went on, so I always wanted to be the standard,” Silmon-Craig said “I wanted to come in here and set a standard for us to live by years and years on hand. When (players) come back next year, they know the standard. When we bring guys in here, freshman guys in here, we have a standard set
“When I came here, we didn’t have a standard. So that was the biggest thing for me; I wanted to set the standard. Our standard is to dominate, our standard is to win, our standard is (9- to 10-)win seasons That’s the standard.”
Only time will tell if this year lights the match for a run of dominance, but the impact of this senior class will be felt for a while at CU.
“It meant a lot to you know just seeing all the talent in front of me,” freshman receiver Drelon Miller said “Just learning the little things from them, see how they go about their day, see how they go about football, just being the man they’re becoming.
“I learned a lot from them I’m gonna miss them a lot.”
backfield rotation at times. He’s rushed for 119 yards and a touchdown “Kind of being a leader on this team with the position that Coach Prime put me in as a walkon, getting put on scholarship, I wouldn’t say I’m the most vocal type,” he said “I’m definitely one of the more quiet ones on the team I’m gonna just try and lead by example and set the best example for the rest of my team and the younger guys coming in.” Finneseth and Offerdahl have done that. So has Dempsey, nicknamed “The Governor” by Coach Prime. A former starter, Woods was a key player, too, while Reznik had a chance to play a key role at right tackle in the Buffs’ regular-season finale against Oklahoma State Walk-ons Colton Allen, Braden Keith, Brady Kopetz, Cristiano Palazzo and Christian Sarem have filled their roles, as well.
As a group the OBs are like the rest of the team — enjoying the opportunity to play in a bowl, while aiming to come away with a win
“We’re ready to play, we’re ready to play a Big 12 opponent in BYU,” Offerdahl said. “It’s been exciting.”
Record numbers a result of cohesiveness in offensive strategy
By Brian Howell bhowell @prairiemountainmedia.com
SAN ANTONIO >> Colorado
quarterback Shedeur Sanders didn’t need a year with Pat Shurmur to become ready for the NFL
In fact, he didn’t even need a fourth season in college football Had he declared for the 2024 draft, Sanders said Thursday, “I was going first round last year.”
By the same token, Shurmur, CU’s first-year offensive coordinator, didn’t need a year with Sanders
He’s a longtime established coach who has spent more than two decades in the NFL, including two stints as a head coach
The two of them formed an exceptional duo this season, though, and they were good for each other in helping the 20th-ranked Buffaloes (9-3) get to the Valero Alamo Bowl, where they’ll face No. 17 BYU (10-2) on Saturday (5:30 p.m., ABC).
Shurmur is the fourth coordinator Sanders has had in a four-year college career, but his experience in the NFL has helped give Sanders some extra tools for the next level
“Each year I would say more and more has been put on my plate,” Sanders said Thursday at an Alamo Bowl news conference at the Alamodome. “The more experience I got, the more years and tasks on hand, the more ball I played At this point, he brought a different perspective a (NFL) perspective coming into college and being able to adjust and help me see things in a different perspective, in a different way
“So we could all look at the defense on the board, but we all could have different point of views. So that’s why I’m thankful to be in a situation I’m in and have all the different offensive coordinators and ending with him, because he’s been at the biggest level, the highest level you could get. I
thing is, even Tiger Woods needed a caddy right?”
Shurmur said “(Sanders) is so smart, I can call a play, like we have an example where we get in (an empty backfield) and we just call hitches, and I’ll say, ‘Play with it, and then he can change all the routes, and that whole play could look totally different.’ But I trust him to do that, because he’s really good at it. So I’ve got a great appreciation for him, and I’m looking forward to him just killing it at the next level.”
The next level is part of CU head coach Deion Sanders had in mind when he called Shurmur in the summer of 2023 and asked him to join the staff as an analyst under then-coordinator Sean Lewis.
When Sanders was hired two years ago, the Buffs weren’t just bad. I’ve written it before, but the 1-11 team of 2022 somehow managed to put a product on the field that was even worse than its unsightly record. If this year’s offense was explosive, the 2022 attack was corrosive. If this year’s defense was dogged and opportunistic the 2022 bunch was sluggish and hospitable to opposing offenses. From such doldrums it’s a challenge to sink even lower, and infusing optimism becomes challenge No. 1. Landing Hall of
Famer Deion Sanders, and bringing his influence and sizeable personal fan base into Buff Nation, was like striking gold for CU athletic director Rick George. Sanders and his razeand-rebuild approach didn’t pay immediate dividends, as the Buffs limped to a 4-8 finish last year. This season, however, has been a validation for everything Sanders promised when he first arrived in Boulder
The Buffaloes became the talk of college football even with that 4-8 first Prime season. This year, the wins validated the hype Sanders vowed to increase the Buffs’ talent. CU has a Heisman Trophy winner in Travis
was able to learn a lot from each and every one of those coordinators to where it all built me into the player I am today.”
Statistically, Sanders has had arguably his best season in college, with career highs for completion percentage (74.2%) and passing yards (3,926) and the second-most TD passes of his career (35).
Hunter, another All-American in quarterback Shedeur Sanders, and several other standouts likely to hear their names in the NFL Draft beyond the duo all but certain to be picked early.
Sanders vowed the Buffs would compete for championships. Two years after losing by margins of 39, 38, 47 and 42 points in the final month of 2022, CU was in control of its own destiny for the Big 12 title game through the next-to-last regular-season game this fall. And the Buffs still had a chance to squeak into the championship game and play for a College Football Playoff berth until the final minutes of the final week of the season.
He’s enjoyed success this season with a coordinator who not only is helping his transition to the NFL, but who has allowed Sanders to be himself, while growing Shurmur, even with his wealth of experience, has grown, too
“I’ve learned a great deal from him in a lot of things, and I’ll keep most of it private, but I think the big
The turnaround has been as expansive as dramatic. Will it be sustainable? “The Rise” was real in 2016.
But under former coach Mike MacIntyre the Buffs pretty much returned to mediocrity even before they took the field in that year’s Alamo Bowl, when MacIntyre allowed former assistant Joe Tumpkin to lead the bowl game defense despite the sordid abuse charges swirling around Tumpkin. Avoiding a similarly swift return to mediocrity depends almost entirely on coach Sanders. I confess I’m surprised a 9-3 regular season didn’t make Sanders a hot ticket in the post-regular season college football coaching
By November, Shurmur was calling the offense He became the full-time coordinator in January, after Lewis left CU for the head coaching job at San Diego State.
“With my relationship with Shedeur, you know, it started last year,” Shurmur said “Early on, we developed a really good relationship I think that’s the key
carousel. And I’m still not convinced an NFL franchise won’t kick the tires on Sanders in the near future. Sanders has professed his desire to stay in Boulder, and while that’s a line coaches say routinely to keep their teams focused even while contract negotiations are going on with new suitors in the background, the longer Sanders repeats himself without the rumor mill kicking in, the more it rings true. Certainly landing a quarterback of the future in five-star standout Julian Lewis, plus the recent transfer commitments, speaks to a coach preparing for the long haul. Lewis obviously believes Sanders isn’t going
part of this business that people don’t spend enough time on. You just can’t start teaching these guys plays. You’ve got to get to know them They’ve got to know you believe in them. “Then when I was put in control of the offense, it just happened faster. I believe in the young man I listen to him Even though I’m almost 60 — I’m a grandfather now, three times. That relationship so whether you are a grandfather or a coach of working with young people that’s where it starts. So then when we start talking about plays, it’s easy. Because they’ve worked so well together Shurmur is re-energized as a coach and Shedeur is better equipped for the NFL — and he’ll be one of the first, if not the first, player drafted next spring This week, however, they have one last game together. “I just am really, really looking forward to him finishing this thing out the right way and then
anywhere. Coach Sanders might still be driven to prove he can win without Shedeur and Hunter, and unlike the 2016 squad Sanders’ magnetic personality on the recruiting trail should keep a string of NFL-caliber prospects circulating through Boulder Still, those are concerns for another day. The task at hand is BYU, and as long as Shedeur and Hunter follow through on their promises to play, I’ll take the Buffs against a Cougars club that struggled at times in November. CU hasn’t won a bowl game in exactly 20 years since topping Texas-El Paso in the Houston Bowl following the 2004 season. Expect Coach Prime to end that drought, too
Longtime Daily Camera staff photographer Cliff Grassmick is no stranger to capturing some of the Colorado Buffaloes’ top moments on the gridiron, and 2024 was no different as CU improved to 9-3 overall just two seasons removed from a 1-11 campaign. As the Buffs prepare to take the field in the Valero Alamo Bowl on Saturday in San Antonio, here are a few of Grassmick’s best shots from the season.
